Supreme Court of the Russian Federation: the customer does not have the right to refuse to pay for work if the deviation from the terms of the contract is caused by his unfair actions
As part of the execution of the contract for the processing of wood into solid fuel with delivery to the consignees, the contractor turned to the customer's representatives to obtain raw materials, the provision of which was refused to him. The contract was executed by the contractor through the use of its own raw materials (Review of judicial practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 4 (2021).
In connection with the refusal of the customer to pay for the work performed, the contractor appealed to the arbitration court with a corresponding claim.
The decision of the court of first instance, left unchanged by the decisions of the court of appeal and cassation instances, the application was refused.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation did not support the position of the lower courts. In particular, the Court noted that the company produced firewood from its own raw materials, firewood was accepted by consumers and used by them in their activities. At the same time, the balance of the property rights of the parties was not restored by the courts, since the institution, actually using the results of the execution made in its favor, did not make payment, which, in turn, indicates a violation of the principle of compensation, about the enrichment of the customer.
In this regard, the Judicial Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation canceled the judicial acts and sent the case for a new hearing.